Wyoming _ The biggest crowd in Wyoming history is expected for the 5:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday with No. 9 Nebraska so the Wyoming athletic department is urging fans to arrive early.

It’s impossible to get there too early. The parking lots and will call windows will open at 8 a.m. With a turnout of red expected by Nebraskans, Cowboys fans are urged to wear gold.

New Mexico _ Deon Long, one of the few bright spots for the winless Lobos, has been added to the Biletnikoff watch list for the nation’s top wide receiver. The transfer from West Virginia is second in the MW with 88.3 yards a game.

San Diego State _ Rocky Long didn’t know where he would find any receivers going into the year. Colin Lockett, a sophomore who wasn’t listed on the pre-season two-deep, was added to the Biletnikoff watch list Friday. He is third in the MW with 84.7 yards a game.

TCU _ Now that Dan Beebe is out as Big 12 commissioner, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports there may be new interest by the league in the Horned Frogs. Beebe had said he was only interested in new TV markets. TCU’s Big East, destination, meanwhile is most uncertain.

The Fort Worth school has only tried to get into the Big 12 since the Southwest Conference dissolved in the mid 1990’s.

UNLV _ Daniel Harper, one of those fifth-year transfers who already has his degree from another school, is starting to make an impact at safety for the Rebels. He graduated from USC and wasn’t a big Lane Kiffin fan.

“I wished (Kiffin) all the best, but I’m a grown man now, I’m a college graduate, and sometimes you have to make adult decisions, and this is one of them,” Harper told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

While Texas president Bill Powers ducked away from reporters after Monday’s meeting with his university board of regents, his counterpart at Oklahoma, David Boren, held court after a board meeting in which the regents gave him carte blanche power.

He barely hid behind any political gobbledygook. His main comments are in my story on line and in the paper but I’m adding some more below. He basically said he’s sick and tired of the Big 12’s instability. He said he’s looking out for the best interest of, not only the school, but Oklahoma’s fans and athletes.

“It’s extremely important,” he told reporters. “You have to look at it this way: One of the most important things for our fans and our students is for us to be a member of a stable conference so we do not continue to have distracting dramas about the conference itself. We are in a very strong position at this time.”

BOULDER — Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn got a new five-year contract and is now earning it by doing nothing but reading the Internet. Like everyone else in Colorado, he’s interested in Texas A&M. The Aggies appear to be a lock to bolt the Big 12 for the SEC.

Can you imagine how pitiful Colorado would look if it hadn’t left for the Pac-12? They’d be one more departure from joining the Mountain West. How would you like to pay current ticket prices to watch New Mexico?

Bohn didn’t want to comment. I understand why. Taking a shot at Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe would be like ripping an ex-girlfriend after you dump her.

Some Colorado basketball fans are quick to point out that Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe is a member of the NCAA Basketball Committee charged with selecting the 37 at-large teams, and that with Colorado joining the Pac-10 this summer, perhaps Beebe didn’t fight for CU to be in the tournament bracket as strongly as he might have.

CU athletic director Mike Bohn said Sunday afternoon at the team’s NCAA Tournament watch party that he believes Beebe was enthusiastic in promoting Colorado to the committee. After all, a sixth bid from the Big 12 to the NCAA Tournament would have meant more money for Big 12 coffers.

Speaking Monday morning on his final Big 12 coaches teleconference, Colorado coach Tad Boyle said he also does not subscribe to any conspiracy theory.

“I’ve heard that (from fans), and I really don’t (believe that),” Boyle said. “I think the committee made their decision on what they thought was best. But I don’t think there’s a conspiracy theory against Colorado. I don’t buy into that.”

Everybody makes mistakes, Boyle added.

“In the game of college basketball, players make mistakes, coaches make mistakes, officials make mistakes and now we see the (selection) committee makes mistakes, too,” he said.

IRVING, Texas — A big reason why Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe hopes he can help Colorado move into the Pac-10 next year is an 11-team schedule is very difficult to organize. Would there be two divisions? If one big league, should they play a 10-game round robin? Will there be an odd team out in basketball?

“We’ve looked at it, but it’s not what anybody would want,” Beebe said. “All the planning for it is to be an ’11 departure.”

Dave Plati, Colorado’s associate athletic director who’s in charge of scheduling, said the only reason Colorado gave the Big 12 a two-year notice was it was the first domino to fall. Then Nebraska bolted to the Big Ten for 2011 and Utah joined the Pac-10, also for 2011.

One question Colorado has is Utah’s agreement to not accept revenue the first year in the new league.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — More than a few eyebrows rose around the country last month when the Atlantic Coast Conference signed a 12-year, $1.86 billion deal with ESPN. The ACC? That many people want to watch Maryland vs. Boston College?

A lot more people around the country want to see the Big 12. That’s why the corner of commissioner Dan Beebe’s mouth rose along with all those eyes around him. His negotiations with ESPN next April will make or break this conference.

Big 12 teams are only receiving $7 million-$12 milion a year. That’s compared to the $20 million-$22 million in the Big Ten and $17 million in the SEC.

What makes Beebe confident the Big 12 can top the ACC? Competition. Other networks could challenge ESPN are Turner Sports and NBC Comcast.

“I think more people will be interested in college athletics,” Texas A&M athletic director Bill Byrnes said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for us.”

Kensler joined The Denver Post in 1989 and has covered a variety of beats, including Colorado, Colorado State, golf, Olympics and the Denver Broncos. His brush with greatness: losing in a two-on-two pickup basketball game at Ohio State against two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.